I finally got my name on the cover of The Miami Herald. It was because this column won a Pulitzer Prize for journalism and -- let's face it -- I deserve it.

OK, I'm joking. I've done a lot of that in Neighbors and every December in Coconut Grove's King Mango Strut parade.

Bill Dobson and I started it 28 years ago. I have always been its chief organizer or creative director. Most years I've worn both hats.

The front page story two weeks ago was about the troubles our parade has had lately. The event now has two directors, Antoinette Baldwin and me. She and I agree on most things but disagree on others. These problems may force us to cancel this year's Strut.

Baldwin, our group's treasurer, has been holding up the funding for the Dec. 27 event. She says she is doing this because I have a trademark on ``King Mango.'' It bothers her a lot.

I have the trademark rights because I created the name and logo (the King Mango guy) long ago, in 1982. That's the nature of trademark law; you can get one if you create something that identifies a business or event and put it to use.

While these rights also allow the creator to make money, I have never made money running the Grove's great parade. The King Mango name and logo have only been used to put on the Strut all these years. I have never charged the parade for their use other than having the Strut pay for a state fee a few years ago.

Our disagreement affected last year's meetings. At times things got ugly. People could not agree on what our parade's future: Should it change or stay the same?

The controversy included the King Mango trademark.

I believe the King Mango Strut should continue to be a small town parade in a big city. It has been successful for so long for that very reason. Others think the parade, and its budget, needs to grow.

Look what happened to the Coconut Grove Art Festival.

Our group also has disagreements on ``standards,'' such as who should be allowed to join the parade.

As the event's creative director, I have tried to make sure every group in the parade is on-the-edge funny, or at least, very weird.

It is the reason thousands of people come to the Grove to watch it every year.

Baldwin was the parades' chief organizer from 2001 to 2007 and she did a good job. Three years ago I showed up at the Strut to see a dozen or so Harley Davidson motorcycles parked at the beginning of the parade. I was told, ``They'll be leading it this time.''

My jaw dropped as I said, ``But they're not funny!''

``Men on Harleys'' did, indeed, lead the parade that year but I asked them not to return. It was a good decision, one of the easiest I have ever made.

What isn't easy is planning the parade's future. The people who have worked on it for years would like to see it to continue. To do this we must get past the present controversies and pass the King Mango Strut on to the next generation.

Do thirty-somethings even want to run it? I think so.

Old Mangoheads like me can't tell these ``kids'' what to do. What we can do is be a part of a united team that says, ``Here are the keys to the King Mango Strut. Use them, enjoy them. Have your own fun.''

What doesn't change is our need for laughter. It is the best medicine. The Strut gives a chance to chuckle at all that ails us.

Forget the boring Glenn and Antoinette Show. Hopefully we'll get past our front page dispute, our funds will flow again, and we'll march again in December. That will be the next step in passing the Grove's great parade on to another generation.

When King Mango's kids begin putting on the Strut, I'll happily watch them pass by. I may even write about it and win my elusive Pulitzer.

FORMER STRUTTER

STARS NEXT SUNDAY

Juanita Greene led the Marching Marjorys in the 2006 King Mango Strut. The former Miami Herald writer is featured in Ken Burns' new epic on our country's national parks. It will begin airing on PBS a week from now. In the film the former president of the Friends of the Everglades will be telling us about South Florida's parks and the legacy of Marjory Stoneman Douglas.

When Juanita moved from Coral Gables to Tallahassee last spring she left behind many, friends who appreciated all that she did for South Florida. Despite the move and the rigors of easing into her 80s, she tells me her environmental work continues. Watch it do just that next Sunday.

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